The famous “Blue Marble” image of the Earth taken from Apollo 17 in 1972. Mechanical engineer Shelby Jacobs developed the advanced camera system used during the mission. (Courtesy of NASA)
the photo became a symbol of the environmental movement during the 1970s. (Courtesy of NASA)

I once wrote in this space that Earth Day should be abolished. A holiday to assuage our guilt over polluting the earth? It’s like Grandparents’ Day, invented by Hallmark so we could send a card and maybe place a phone call and stop feeling guilty about not reaching out to nanna and papa. Until next year.

But not everyone lives this stuff day-in, day-out like I do. Some of you might take this time — it’s now called Earth Month — to do something for the planet either by yourself or with a family member or friend. I would suggest if you do, come back with one practice you will carry on for the whole year. That will really make a difference.

Here’s a list of some Earth Day events yet-to-come that expose you to the glut of atrocities we’ve committed against Mother Earth, God’s creation. Can we be woke about this? The biggest issue being global climate change, which is already altering our planet’s weather and will make it unlivable for our children and grandchildren unless we do something about it.

So I’m calling it Saving the Earth Day. Here are some events you may want to attend:

Saturday, April 20: Bring unwanted, gently used clothes to the Loupilou fashion pop-up shop and give them a second life from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. They will be donated to the Downtown Women’s Center. (yes, re-use is one of the 3 Rs). Bryck & Mortar, 13050 San Vicente Blvd., No. 209, Los Angeles.

Sunday, April 21: Great East Hollywood Earth Day Cleanup from 9 a.m. to noon, 4810 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles.

Monday, April 22: Go on a hike at 9 a.m. from Edison Trails Park, 1600 S. Garfield Ave., Monterey Park, 91755. The hike is in support of Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena’s efforts to expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument to the San Gabriel River. Chu will speak at 10 a.m. at La Loma Park, 1950 Fulton Ave., Monterey Park.

Monday, April 22: Metrolink and L.A. Metro are offering free rides all day. Riding a bus or train can be the most effective individual practice for reducing your household greenhouse gas inventory. Every year, Metrolink riders in total reduce greenhouse gases by 120,000 metric tons.

Saturday, April 27: Help researchers from the L.A. County Natural History Museum and the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium find coastal marine life in the tide pools at 10:15 a.m at Point Fermin, San Pedro. Data collected is part of the City Nature Challenge. Meet at aquarium front steps, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro, then walk to tide pools.

Saturday, April 27: Have paper? Don’t just throw it out. Shred it. A free shredding truck will be on hand at the Neighborhood Council Valley Village Earth Day Shredding Event from 9 a.m. to noon. Used batteries and light bulbs are also being collected, so they don’t end up in landfills and pollute the ground water. Valley Village Park, 5000 Westpark Drive, North Hollywood.

Saturday, April 27: Take a family-friendly, 5.4-mile community bike ride from 9 to 11:30 a.m.with Active San Gabriel Valley and the Monterey Park Environmental Commission. You can register at the event starting at 7 a.m. Barnes Memorial Park, 350 S. McPherrin Ave., Monterey Park.

Steve Scauzillo covers public health, environment and green transportation for the Southern California News Group. He’s a recipient of the Aldo Leopold Award for Distinguished Editorial Writing. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @stevscaz or email him at sscauzillo@scng.com.

Steve Scauzillo covers environment and transportation for the Southern California News Group. He has won two journalist of the year awards from the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club and is a recipient of the Aldo Leopold Award for Distinguished Editorial Writing on environmental issues. Steve studied biology/chemistry when attending East Meadow High School and Nassau College in New York (he actually loved botany!) and then majored in social ecology at UCI until switching to journalism. He also earned a master's degree in media from Cal State Fullerton. He has been an adjunct professor since 2005. Steve likes to take the train, subway and bicycle – sometimes all three – to assignments and the newsroom. He is married to Karen E. Klein, a former journalist with Los Angeles Daily News, L.A. Times, Bloomberg and the San Fernando Valley Business Journal and now vice president of content management for a bank. They have two grown sons, Andy and Matthew. They live in Pasadena. Steve recently watched all of “Star Trek” the remastered original season one on Amazon, so he has an inner nerd.